by TS Paul
He pointed to the scientist, “None of you except Marcus are thinking of the big picture. We gave intelligence and mechanical tests to young people. Our young people. They are our future crew members, workers, and maybe leaders. We need them, and they need us to teach them what we know. Think of them as interns. Each selected department will get five new interns every six weeks. I will tell you now, I can think of lots of scut work and some real projects that an extra five sets of hands would be really helpful. These young adults are the cream of the crop. Some of them might be able to help on levels that we can’t even imagine yet.”
The man paused a moment before adding, “Besides, this is what Bethany Anne wants. So grow a pair and straighten up.”
The arguing department heads frowned almost in unison and nodded their heads. He had a point. They all heard clapping and turned to look at the back of the auditorium.
“Thank you, Captain. That was well done. Is everyone ready? The students will be here soon.” Diane and her sister walked down the aisle toward the stage.
“You ladies are as fetching as ever.” The Captain had a big smile on his face as he helped the two new school administrators up to the stage.
“Thank you,” Diane shook his hand and turned toward the others. “And once again to everyone here, thank you all for coming.”
The others greeted her with nods and other acknowledgments. Jean gave Dorene the evil eye but smiled at the same time.
She pointed to the doors in the back of the auditorium. “Thirty children will be arriving through those doors in a few minutes. Our goal here is to train for the future, or all the work we have done is worthless. Once we go through the gate, the kids become our resource pool. My sister and I understand that, and so does the Queen. Arguments aside, we need all of you to be on board with us too.” The two twins looked around the stage at the department heads. Several monitors showed the faces or offices of those that couldn’t be present physically. “Are you?”
There was a pause before a new voice entered the conversation.
“That is a question I would like the answer to as well.” Everyone on stage turned toward Bethany Anne’s voice.
The Queen strode onto the stage from the direction of the admin offices. Her ever-present white German Shepherd, Ashur, and John Grimes, her bodyguard, followed in her wake. She was dressed as if she was either returning from or going into an operation. She had on black leather with pistols and two swords.
John Grimes looked in all directions without turning his head more than ten degrees. He knew everyone on stage, but it didn’t hurt to be cautious.
He tried not to smile at the twin sisters because Jean wouldn’t like it. Inside he was laughing his ass off. It had been a few years, and he had forgotten about the calendars the women had put together of him and the rest of the Queen’s Bitches. All of the guys had joined in, to make the beefcake calendar.
He wondered where and how they found them. Bethany Anne had poked him in the arm and pointed when she first saw them, smirking.
Everyone on stage nodded and voiced agreement with the woman who started this grand adventure they were on. She was the reason for everything, and they owed her the world.
“Good. We need this to work. Ladies?” Bethany Anne looked at the newest additions to her group.
Diane stepped past her sister, who was trying pitifully to hide from both John and Jean, to answer Bethany Anne, “The children should be coming through the doors in just a moment. Max, the shuttle driver, just dropped them off.”
CHAPTER THREE
“This is it! The Etheric Academy. Be sure you gather up your belongings, my next stop is waste management and trust me you don’t want to go there looking for stuff.” Max was the tram driver. The internal trains were mostly automatic except when it came to those for the Academy. Both the Queen and the school administrators felt a human presence would be best.
Max peered at his monitors and readouts. “Hey, you in the back? Are you awake? This is your stop.” Pressing a few buttons the lights in the last car began to strobe and flash. Anyone still in there was awake now. He watched carefully and shook his head as a slightly-built young man stepped off the car tentatively. “Kids.”
He double checked to make sure the cars were all clear and exited the cockpit himself. The tram would return to regular service unless needed for students. Here at the Academy, Max was the all around Mr-Fixit. His job was to keep the place running and do any heavy lifting the Administrators needed.
“WEEEET” Max pulled his fingers out of his mouth. Not many people remembered how to whistle like that anymore. The new students all stopped and turned to look at him, their eyes wide.
“Gather round,” he waited for the kids to get closer. A couple stepped back to make room for their shorter classmates. Max pointed to the main doors, “Now those are the doors to your new life. If anyone wishes to return to your family, now is the time to speak up. There is no shame in wanting to wait.” None of the kids spoke, but many looked around like prairie dogs searching for predators.
“Great. This is your new beginning. Go through the doors and hang a left into the auditorium. We have a small presentation set up for you.” Smiling he stepped ahead of the kids and opened the door on the left.
All thirty kids tried to fit through the doors at the same time. There was very little pushing or shoving, just everyone trying to squeeze in at once.
“Take your time. The school isn’t going anywhere.” Kids were the same everywhere Max thought to himself. He had been a building maintenance supervisor for some of the biggest colleges in the country before answering an email that appeared on his phone at home one night. That had been the best decision of his life.
Who wouldn’t want to work in space?
The main lobby of the Etheric Academy was a work of art. A swirling three-dimensional representation of the galaxy floated across the ceiling. It was continually being updated by the command center. Unknown to any of the staff, it was one of the backup navigational displays for the crew of the Meredith Reynolds. The asteroid’s designers didn’t believe in keeping all their eggs in one basket.
Redundancy and resiliency were the mantras, safety the results.
Carved staircases rose from the floor and arched in two directions. Each leading to a different part of the school. A hallway extended out between the staircases. It led to the admin offices as well as the small clinic.
Max squeezed past the large group of Wechselbalg and Russians lingering at the doors. “This is the main hall. Up those stairs to the right are the dorms. The left is classrooms and a few other specialty rooms. Down there is the Administrative offices, my office, and our small clinic. A word to the wise.”
He waved his hands and held up a single finger. “Do not under any circumstances irritate or disrespect Dr. Running Wolf. She has volunteered to assist us here. Anyone who causes trouble will answer to me. Now go through those doors over there.” Max had to jump out of the way as he was almost trampled by the enthusiastic kids.
Upon entering, the first thing the new students saw was the Queen! She stood in the middle of the podium in a restful pose. At her side was Ashur, the enormous German Shepherd along with the ever-present John Grimes. Behind her stood an array of other well-known faces. A who’s who of the command staff.
“He’s huge!”
“OMG! It’s the Queen herself!”
“Dude, check out the size of that dog.”
“How does someone that size even find clothes?”
The new students filed in and took seats in front of the stage. Bethany Anne heard their comments and in a few cases the comments running through their minds and smiled.
John, where do you buy your clothes from?
I have them specially made just for me by a trio of honest to God tailors who asked to join us. They have quarters down on level five. John sent his mental only answer back to his Queen.
Why would tailors choose to go into space? Bethany Anne scrutini
zed her most loyal bodyguard.
John blushed and answered his Queen and friend. I may have mentioned to them that the boys and I were leaving Earth and not coming back. Our suits alone put their kids through college.
Bethany Anne shook her head at him. I should have expected that.
The last of the new students were seated as Bethany Anne walked to the front of the podium. “Welcome to the new Etheric Academy. I’ll make this brief, so listen the carefully this first time.”
She started walking about the stage, moving back and forth. “You have been selected from thousands of applicants to be the first students here. This Academy is something of an experiment. We need special people to help us in our shared goals. We fight to give Earth a choice in its path and to protect it while it chooses. We fight to maintain our existence and our place in the Universe. The graduates of this academy will be special in many ways. You will have the skills that are needed to join with my crew and many of your parents in the fight to save Earth, our way of life, and in many ways, the Universe. You will also be special in that you will understand how to work together to achieve those goals without regard to race, type of modified human you are, or origin.”
Bethany Anne stopped and made a gesture towards those listening attentively in the seats, “There are thirty of you to start this journey, with hundreds more ready in the near future. You are our future, our wealth. We are proud of you and know that you can make a difference.”
She continued, “Your classes are designed to quickly get you prepared to be department interns....with a paycheck. The group of you will be broken up into mixed teams of five individuals. Using a rotating block schedule of six weeks, we will teach you what we do to achieve the goals the Empire needs. Work hard and learn quickly!”
Glancing at the people behind her, Bethany Anne made a small hand motion. The twins stepped forward. “These two ladies are the backbone of this school. They will become your mothers and your fathers for the length of your stay here. Trust them with anything that concerns you. You can trust them because I trust them.”
Bethany Anne’s face grew grim. “The people behind me are to be trusted too. They are the people who designed and built the pods, shoot the weapons, and fly the ships of our Empire. Each of you will be joining their crews or teams shortly. Learn from them as they will learn from you. You are our hope. We need each other to survive what the future will bring.”
Bethany Anne stepped away from the podium and gave a little wave. Ashur and John stepped closer to her, and they all vanished suddenly. The kids in the crowd gave a sudden cry of surprise.
Diane stepped up to the microphone, looking at where Bethany Anne had been just a second ago, before turning back to the kids. “Now that the Queen has gotten your attention let me introduce a few people here. My name is Diane, and my twin sister Dorene is over there. Together with Max, the driver of the tram you came in on, we collectively run this school. We are the ones you come to if you have any sort of problem. If we can’t fix it, I’m sure Dr. Running Wolf can.” She gestured to a strikingly beautiful woman in a lab coat standing near the stairs.
“Behind me are the heroes of our Empire. Jean Dukes, the master of weapons and destruction. Marcus, the ‘M’ in team BMW. He and the rest of his team have been behind all of the cutting-edge tech advances you see around you. Jeo over there commands the mining and shipbuilding efforts of the Empire.”
Diane pointed at the monitors. “ADAM and his computer whiz kids are standing by over there. You will spend six weeks working for, and with, all of these people and more. We have a very full schedule planned for you all. Shortly we will break you up into your teams. These will be your brothers and your sisters for the near future. Teams will do everything but sleep together, for now. When I call your name you will step forward to receive three things, a school tablet, a locator beacon, and your new assignment.”
Diane looked out into the audience and smiled. All she needed now was a floppy old talking hat, and everything would be right with the world.
“Charles Adams.” A large boy stood up in the middle of the second row and made his way forward. Diane spoke a few words to him and handed him a tablet. She slipped a wristband over his left hand and pointed toward stage left. Six flags stood there each bearing a Military designation.
Tina barely noticed when her name was called. She had been studying the words written above the stage. There were quotes and sayings on almost every wall or at least those she had seen. Many made a lot of sense. The one above her struck home the most for her. “Don’t give up, Don’t accept mediocrity, Don’t accept the status quo.” Don’t accept the status quo meant the most to her. It reminded her of something John had said around her once or twice. “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.” She jumped when someone touched her.
“She’s calling for you.” Tina stared in shock at a tall blond girl with striking blue eyes.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
The girl pointed at the stage. “Isn’t your name Tina?”
Tina blushed and made her way up to the stage. One of the twins, Diane handed her a tablet and a bracelet.
“Daydreaming a bit there, kid?”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s all good. This tablet is yours. It contains class schedules and other information. The beacon must be worn. Later you can choose to have one implanted, but that is up to you. You have been selected for team Alpha. Please find your flag and stand next to it.”
Tina hopped off the stage and ran to her flag as another name was called. With only thirty students the names were called pretty quickly. Her group grew as two massive Wechselbalg boys were called.
“Hi there, I’m Tina.” She held out her hand. Growing up on the base in Colorado she knew lots of Wechselbalg and wasn’t afraid of them.
The larger of the two grunted and took her hand. “Nestor.” He thumped his chest. Nestor gave the other boy a big shove and called him “Maxim.”
More names were called, and Tina recognized a few kids in the other groups. A close few of the students she recognized had been on the scary field trip with her and her brother. The bus had had been captured by terrorists in an effort to change the focus from protecting their base, to protecting the kids.
She found herself cheering them on as names were called.
Yana took her tablet and glanced at it as she put it away. The bracelet both confused her and scared her half to death. If the Cheka had something such as this, she might have been killed years ago.
Dorene saw the look of fright on the tall Russian girl’s face and instantly knew who she must be. She hurried over to reassure her.
“You’re safe here. We promise, Yana. There is no one here that represents what you left, including those who were chasing you.”
Yana looked sharply at the young-looking elder. “You know my name?”
“We are aware of everyone's name. You are special. Even the Queen thinks so. We want you to succeed in this.”
Fingering the bracelet Yana nodded. “It’s frightening. This could doom my family.”
Dorene embraced her and whispered in her ear. “We are your family now dear. To get to you, they would have to go through my sister and me first.”
Yana slid the bracelet on and smiled. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Alpha group is your new class. Go say ‘hi’ to your new family.”
The group looked almost full as she approached them. Tina, the girl she had to wake up, was talking to two Wechselbalg she remembered from the evacuation and long march. A slim waif of a boy stood beside one of the wolves almost hidden by his shadow. The girl named Tina was smiling at her.
“You joining us here in Alpha group?” Yana nodded at her. “Great! Welcome to the family!”
